Smart people. Competitive. You learn a lot just from other people, but you also have access to a lot of research and training. On-going training in particular is highly encouraged and supported by managers. From my observations, people are quite empowered at most levels and departments within the firm, given a lot of responsibility, not what you might expect from a very large firm.

Cons

Technology in many departments is dated and inefficient. Management slow to implement changes and alter the status quo. You know you are at a large, bureaucratic firm and feel the frustrations associated with seeing things slow to change and seeing no action taken by management to fix known problems. But this is no more pronounced than with any other large firm in my experience.

The people who work(ed) at Lehman are truly the best and brightest in the industry. Despite being incredibly talented across the board, pretentious attitudes were few and far between. The work culture was supportive and encouraging, with teamwork and a common pride in the business being prevalent at all levels. This makes what happened even more of a tragedy, particularly given that this firm was at the top of the industry in almost all disciplines. It is important to remember that Lehman was driven under by heightened, albeit not abnormal, leverage and abject fear and rumor mongering that pervaded every corner of the capital markets. The competency of its employees and the capabilities of its businesses were not determining factors, and the avalanche of compounding negative events could have taken any similar firm down. The same exact thing happened to Bear, and may very well have happened to Merrill, Morgan, or Goldman, which was evidenced by their actions to swiftly take themselves out of the game altogether. All said, if the people and culture have remained largely intact, the operations purchased by Barclays may present a similarly attractive workplace.

Cons

The hours can naturally be a drag at times, but it is nothing out of the ordinary. If one wishes to participate in this industry, there is a certain level of sacrifice that will inherently be required. At times, this will involve waking up very early, not returning home until very late, and generally working more than you would otherwise prefer to.

Advice to Management

Given the events that have unfolded, there is not much to say at this point.

Lehman pays well and has excellent benefits. They also provide all employees with investment research for free. The firm had a history and track record of doing the right things. Lehman did provide training for the job. Upper level managers are generally well trained.

Cons

They are bankrupt and my paycheck was late and effected by the bankruptcy. My direct supervisor was a pretty poor. His boss was great. I do think my internship coincided with a bad time for the company and a bad time personally for my direct supervisor. Unfortunately in the summer of 2008 management had bigger fish to fry than a poor line supervisor at ALS.

Advice to Management

Senior management needs to be more candid and straightforward with employees.